A WILDLIFE habitat near a North Yorkshire town has seen a nearly 700 per cent increase in ‘prolific pollinators’, including extremely rare species for the county.

Bank Woods in Summerbridge, near Harrogate was recently surveyed by conservation group Make it Wild to see the benefits of tree planting and rewilding work on the wood's moths.

Staff at Make it Wild said surveys by local moth experts in July and October 2023 and July of this year brought the grand total of recorded species using Bank Woods as their home to 265.

This marks a 679 per cent increase in recorded species since a 2018 survey and prior to 5,000 trees being planted at the site.

Recommended reading:

North Yorkshire couple plant 25,000 trees to fight climate change

50,000 trees milestone for eco-group

Several of the species identified were said to be extremely rare in Yorkshire.

The county’s micro-moth recorder Dr Charles Fletcher said: “Bank Woods provides a haven for many moth species that, at one time, used to be widespread across Yorkshire and it’s great to see such a lovely range of species thriving here.

Neocochylis-molliculanaAn example of moth species Neocochylis-molliculana (Image: Supplied)

“We are seeing the moths extending their range to the new planting on the site and it’s exciting to see it already starting to attract such a wide variety of insect life."

Christopher Neave, co-founder of Make it Wild, said: “We’re very conscious of just how much nature is under threat from loss of habitat and from climate change and we create our reserves as places where wildlife can thrive without interference.

“Seeing this moth species list rise with each survey we undertake is really encouraging and inspires us to keep doing more for biodiversity.”

Make it Wild has 10 nature reserves in Yorkshire and is developing a network of partner sites elsewhere in the UK.